James Earl Jones, the beloved stage and screen actor who lent his iconic, deep voice to Darth Vader in Star Wars and Mufasa in The Lion King, has died at 93.
Regarded as one of the best actors of his generation, Jones’ career spanned Shakespeare to Hollywood hits. He is one of the few actors to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony Award.
The actor’s death was reported by Deadline, via his representatives at Independent Artist Group.
James Earl Jones was born January 17, 1931 in Arkabutla, Mississippi and raised by his grandparents in Dublin, Michigan. While he would later become one of the most famous voices in the world, he says he suffered from a stutter in his youth.
“I was a stutterer. I couldn’t talk,” Jones recalled in a 1996 interview. “So my first year of school was my first mute year, and then those mute years continued until I got to high school.” A teacher encouraged him to overcome his stutter by reading poetry aloud.
Jones served in the US Army during the Korean War, and after decided to pursue a career in acting. He studied at the American Theatre Wing, working as a janitor to support himself. By the 1960s, Jones was establishing himself as one of his generation’s great Shakespearean actors, playing roles like Othello and King Lear. He also made his film debut in Stanley Kubrick’s classic 1964 comedy Dr. Strangelove, as bombadier Lt. Lothar Zogg.
In 1967, he played a boxer in The Great White Hope, winning the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. He reprised the role in the 1970 film version, receiving his first Academy Award nomination.
Amidst all his acclaimed acting work, Jones soon landed his most well-known and iconic role — one where he didn’t even have to appear on set: voicing the villainous Darth Vader in Star Wars. While Vader was played in costume by David Prowse, Jones dubbed over the lines with his own deep bass voice, helping to create one of the most famous characters in movie history.
While Jones originally opted to go uncredited for the role, it has become perhaps his most famous performance. He continued to voice Vader for decades, in the two sequels The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, the prequel Revenge of the Sith and the spin-off Rogue One. In 2022, Jones retired from the role, but signed an agreement for his voice to be used in future projects using artificial intelligence and archive recordings.
Jones also provided the voice of another beloved movie character, Mufasa in the 1994 Disney film The Lion King. Jones later reprised the role in the 2019 remake.
Throughout the ’80s and ’90s, Jones appeared in many Hollywood films, including Conan the Barbarian, Coming to America, Field of Dreams, and The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games and The Sandlot. He also won his second Tony Award, starring in the original production of August Wilson’s Fences.
He received eight Emmy Award nominations for his television work, winning twice in 1991: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for Heat Wave and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Gabriel’s Fire.
Jones also continued to perform on Broadway: over the past 20 years he starred in revivals of On Golden Pond, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Driving Miss Daisy, The Best Man and You Can’t Take it With You.
Jones was the recipient of many awards and honors throughout his acclaimed career. He received an Honorary Academy Award in 2011, making him one of the only people to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award, known as “EGOT.” Broadway’s Cort Theatre was renamed the James Earl Jones Theatre in his honor in 2022.
Rest in peace to the iconic James Earl Jones, one of the greatest actors of our time — please share this
Couple has 3 sets of twins in 5 years after being told they can’t have kids, they all share the same birthday
Carrie and Craig Kosinski responded positively when a long-lost family friend requested them to watch her infant twins.
Carrie and Craig offered to temporarily assume custody of the adorable girls.
Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, and eventually the girls were a permanent part of the family.
For Carrie and Craig, having children had always been a dream, but they had no idea how their journey would turn out.
The births of Adalynn and Kenna occurred on February 28, 2014. The twins were born via emergency C-section, and at the age of three months, the Kosinkis were granted legal custody of the infant girls.
After a few years of parenting their adoptive twins, Carrie and Craig got a call from their original mother, who revealed that she was dealing with yet another tragic circumstance.
She was battling to make everything work while dealing with serious challenges in her life. She asked the couple if they would be open to adopting her two younger kids, Cece and J.J., twins who are two years old.
The younger twins were biologically related to Kenna and Adalynn.
From Union Grove, Wisconsin, Carrie and Craig had to consider their options carefully.
The couple had made numerous unsuccessful attempts to become pregnant before beginning the adoption process with Kenna and Adalynn.
They sought medical attention because they had no idea what was wrong for a while, and the doctor broke some devastating news.
The medical professional informed Carrie that due to her severe endometriosis, she was unable to conceive naturally. Therefore, having biological children was essentially out of the question; this is why they initially turned to adoption.
“It was a difficult decision. We were trying to get pregnant ourselves. But they were siblings so that was definitely was part of our consideration — we wanted to keep the siblings together,” Carrie told The Journal Times.
Carrie and Craig, however, put aside their private worries and informed the mother that they would be delighted to adopt the younger twins.
But not long after welcome Cece and J.J. into the family, Carrie started to feel off and knew she needed to see a doctor.
An ultrasound in September 2015 confirmed Carrie’s own pregnancy. Actually, there were two fetuses visible on the screen! In the past five years, she and Craig have welcomed three sets of twins.
”We were in shock, but super happy,” Carrie Kosinski explained.
Craig and Carrie understood their pregnancy was a gift from a higher power, despite their first overwhelm. All six of the children would be raised in a secure, loving home, the parents resolved.
But destiny would soon bring the family back, and their medical professionals could hardly believe what had transpired.
Unbelievably, the other two sets of twins’ birth dates, February 28 and March 1, were shared by biological twins Karraline and Clarissa.
”We were very shocked. We were like ‘oh my God we are going to have three sets of twins. What are we going to do with ourselves?’”, Carrie recalled.
The fact that all of Carrie and Craig’s kids have the same birthday is proof positive that this was meant to be, according to the delighted parents.
The Journal Times quotes Carrie as saying, “God certainly has a sense of humor.”
In week 25 of her pregnancy, Carrie used in vitro fertilization to give birth to Karraline and Clarissa. Sadly, their biological twins had to stay in neonatal intensive care for several months. Karraline and Clarissa, however, were in good health and shape when they were finally permitted to return home.
Three pairs of twins living under one roof is obviously expensive, but several members of the neighborhood have offered financial assistance.
Kind strangers from across the nation provided the family with financial assistance to cover their rising bills and expensive charges through fundraising websites like GoFundMe and AdoptTogether.
”I have to be very organized and keep to a schedule, or things get out of hand,” Carrie says.
Craig and Carrie believe that someone from above had a particular plan for their family because all six of their children were born on the same day: Cece and J.J. on February 28, 2013, Adalynn and Kenna on February 28, 2014, and Karraline and Clarissa on February 28, 2016.
”We believe that because God adopted us into His family that we were meant to adopt these children into our family,” Carrie said. ”It’s such a huge blessing to us. We love all our children the same. We wouldn’t want our lives to be any different.”
Today, this family is enjoying life, and to see all these beautiful kids grow up must be such a blessing for Carrie and Craig.
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